It's dark when we get to a big space called a police station. The somebody has trouble getting out of the car because of me and his bad leg. He limps like Pa does with Chain. We go into a room and the somebody puts me on a chair. The light in the ceiling is bright. It hurts and cover my face with my hands.

"Jack? Jack, can you look at me?"

I look at the new man. He's a detective. He says his name is Lestrade. There's a lady called Sergeant Donovan. They say they want to help and they're going to ask me questions. I hold onto John's hand. Pa said the Somebody is important and this Somebody is the most important in the World. Pa will want to meet him.

"Why is the brightness so bright?" I ask.

Everyone looks confused. I try to explain. "Strip Light in Room isn't so bright. Why is Outside so bright?"

Detective Lestrade sits forward. "Jack, who was that man you were running away from? Do you know him?"

"He's Old Magnussen. The Witch was with him too."

"The Witch?"

"There was a woman too," says the Somebody. "They were in the red pick-up together."

Lestrade nods and takes notes. "Okay. Is Old Magnussen your father, Jack?"

I shake my head. "No, Pa is my father. Old Magnussen is the Monster."

"Why is Old Magnussen the monster, Jack? Has he hurt you?"

I lift my head up and look at him through my hair. John is holding my hand tightly and it's getting sweaty. "He hurts Pa," I sniff. I want to cry again. "Old Magnussen and the Witch hurt Pa. They're hurting him right now."

"Where do you live, Jack? Do you know where you live?"

"In Room."

"Just one Room? Who lives with you?"

"Pa lives with me. With Bed and Eggsnake and Rug and TV and Toilet."

Everyone looks confused. They don't understand me.

"Is this Room in a house, Jack?"

"Room's not a house."

Lestrade looks at Sergeant Donovan and the Somebody. I can't deduce his face. "What is it then?"

"It's… It's a vault."

Now they're all staring at me like I'm the mad Hatter. "Room is a Vault?" he scribbles more words on his small book. "Are there any windows?"

I shake my head. "No, no windows."

"Then how does the sunlight come in?"

I don't know what sunlight is. "We have Strip Light."

Sergeant Donovan looks sick. "And what's outside the room?"

"The Outside."

"But is there a garden? A house, a street, anything?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I've never been outside Room before."

They all look horrified. "What about your father, your pa, where does he go? Does he lock you in there?"

"Pa lives with me. That's why I had to play dead to escape. We don't know the code to the door. And Pa can't leave because of Chain."

Lestrade is wearing a concerned face. "What chain, Jack?"

"Chain around Pa's leg. It's attached to the wall and he can't get to the door. It's very tight. It makes him limp like Somebody." I point at John.

The Detective looks at Donovan. "That would explain why he's paler than a corpse." He says quietly. He looks back at me. "Tell me more about your pa, Jack. Do you know his name?"

I close my eyes and go to my Mind Palace. I scour my wardrobe. Suddenly, I remember everything I'm supposed to say. I open my eyes and push my hair right out of my face. I'm not scared anymore.

"You have to find Pa. They're going to hurt him now that they know I'm alive."

"Tell us everything you can, Jack, and we'll do our best to find him."

"Pa is called Sherlock Holmes. He's been in Room for a long time, for thirteen years. He takes bad tablets to make him sleepy so he can't fight back. When the Monsters come, I have to sleep in Wardrobe, for protection." I go through all the data in my head. "Pa says I have an uncle, Mycroft Holmes. I have to find him because he'll protect me."

Lestrade whispers something to Donovan and she leaves. There are lots of doors in the Outside. He smiles at me. "Sergeant Donovan has gone to see if we can find anything about your pa. I remember his name from one of my first cases. Would you like something to eat or drink, Jack?"

I'm very thirsty and hungry, but I shake my head. Saving Pa is more important.

"My officers will get you some water, doctor Watson. Thank you for staying with the boy. Now, tell me more, Jack."

"Room is in Appledore."

Everyone in the space breathes at the same time. It's a strange feeling. The detective leans towards me. "Are you absolutely sure, Jack?"

I nod vert hard until my neck hurts. "Pa is in Appledore. That's where Room is. You must save Pa!"

The Somebody sits back. "Of course. Old Magnussen. Charles Magnussen! Now it all makes sense."

Sergeant Donovan comes back in with papers in her hands. "I've got it. Sherlock Holmes, missing for thirteen years, cold case. He was your first as a detective. Remember him?" She shows him one of the papers.

He nods. "God, I remember that. It was a nightmare. The family was under suspicion for ages. We thought it he was a runaway or doing drugs." He rubs his face. "This whole time, he's only been a few miles away."

I don't understand what they're saying. They show me a picture. "Do you know this man, Jack?"

I look. Then I cry. "Pa!" He looks different. The Somebody gives me a tissue and I wipe my face. It doesn't help. They show me pictures of Old Magnussen and I hide my face. I don't want to look at him. John cuddles me. He's good at that, like Pa. They should hug each other once Pa is rescued. I think they'll like each other a lot.

They get ready. People walk around fast, there's noise everywhere. I'm sleepy, but too scared for Pa. I wish they would hurry up. Then detective Lestrade comes back and he nods. John picks me up and carries me to another outside and it's cold. He forgets his stick, but I don't tell him because he's not limping, so he doesn't need it. We get into a car.

A man with another, stranger stick stares at me. A lady next to him is using what I heard the police call a 'phone'. They get into a black car and follow us.

We're going back to Room. We're going to save Pa from the Monsters and Chain.

Jack is safe. Jack is alive.

That's all he cares about. He knows this as They charge through the door and leap at his throat, beating him with a metal pipe, that Jack is out there in the big wide world, away from Them. They throw him onto Bed and hold him down. He's fully aware of what's going to happen next. They'll get as much enjoyment out of this before They kill him and relocate. He closes his eyes and opens the doors to his Mind Palace.

He can see it. Jack growing up, with Mycroft watching over him and driving him mad as he himself was driven mad by his older brother. Jack living with his grandparents, going to school, proving how clever he is…

He opens his eyes. He's standing in one of the many rooms of his Mind Palace. It looks just like Room, except it's empty and stretches as far as the eye can see. Empty asides from the small boy standing not too far in front of him.

"Jack," he gasps, "oh, Jack, I love you, I love you so much, I'm so proud of you." He runs towards him and there's no chain on his leg. Jack meets him halfway and they embrace. Then they look at his freed leg.

"Run, Pa," says Jack, "Run with me."

They grab hands and run.

Sherlock thinks he must be flying. Jack's laugh is infectious and they're giggling like they're both five year olds. Everything seems to be getting brighter and brighter. Sherlock snatches his son up into the air and spins him around. As the end approaches, they waltz towards eternity.